Darren Waller

There's bound to be some hesitancy about drafting tight ends early after guys like George Kittle, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts, T.J. Hockenson and Logan Thomas failed to live up to their lofty projections (due to injury or not).

But the process was still sound behind adding some of those players in the early rounds if you look at their per-game production. Speaking to Waller, the Raiders tight end came in third in expected fantasy points per game (14.6), which ranked top-20 among all tight ends and wide receivers. He also ranked sixth in points per game (12.1) and second in targets per game (8.5)

The major concern with Waller in 2022 is how much Davante Adams will eat into his targets. However, I'd focus more on valuing Waller based on how good the Raiders offense as a whole can be with the addition of Adams. I'd be willing to forego one or fewer targets per game for Waller, if it means more scoring opportunities.

The big-bodied Black Hole tight end is primed for positive touchdown regression after converting just two of his 10 end-zone targets into touchdowns in 2021.

Darren Waller rumored to be a trade target for the Packers

Aaron Nagler of CheeseheadTV, citing multiple league sources, reported Monday that Las Vegas and Green Bay have engaged in trade talks that could potentially send star TE Darren Waller to the Packers.

Fantasy Impact

Waller, who has been viewed as a top-3 fantasy TE for the past three seasons, has seen his fantasy value drop to the mid-TE1 range after an injury riddled 2021 season and the Raiders blockbuster trade to acquire superstar WR Davante Adams earlier this off-season. The Davante Adams trade had a massive fantasy football ripple effect, which ultimately only helped Derek Carr’s fantasy stock while hurting the stock of Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, and Darren Waller. The Raiders and Packers agreeing on a deal that would ship Waller off to Green Bay would again have a massive fantasy impact. Rodgers is known for hyper-targeting his best receiving options and ignoring his secondary targets, so if Waller could gain his trust, he could see an enormous target share at the TE position. In Las Vegas, Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow would get a stock bump with one less mouth to feed in the Raiders passing offense.